What Do Heroes Win?
by mysticalflute
Summary: In the aftermath of pushing James into the River of Lost Souls, Charming struggles to cope with what he's done. Luckily, there's someone else in the Underworld who understands his guilt.
Charming stared in horror up at his twin as he dangled over the River of Lost Souls. This wasn't right, was it? Hadn't he already shoved his brother into it by accident? Hadn't Emma tried to protect him from James?

"James, stop this," he said, eyes wide. "Don't do this. It doesn't have to be this way!"

"No, brother, it does have to be this way. _You're_ my unfinished business, so now, I'm going to finish it," James replied with a wide smirk that reminded Charming of his alternate universe form that Isaac had written.

"Jimmy! Do hurry it up!" Cruella called, her gun trained on Emma, Hook, and Robin.

Charming's stomach churned at the words.

 _"David?"_

What was that?

Charming looked up at his brother, who hadn't seemed fazed by the sudden call of his twin's name.

"Goodbye, brother," James hissed, slamming the butt of the gun into Charming's stomach, launching him off the dock.

He could hear cries of his name as he fell.

 _"David!"_

Killian's voice. Robin's voice. A woman's voice. But wait – Emma called him dad, Snow wasn't at the docks, and Cruella would never call him by his first name. Hell, he didn't know if she even knew his first name.

 _"David, wake up!"_

He crashed into the water, his arms coming up to flail before something grabbed him and he forced his eyes to open, eyes wide as he stared up at the woman (the nails made it obvious that it was a woman) that had taken his wrists.

"Belle," he whispered as his eyes cleared and the dark-haired woman came into view. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled a little and let go of his wrists. "I ran into Emma this morning. She was concerned about you. She said something happened at the docks yesterday, and she asked me to check on you… and Robin asked me to look after the baby."

"Wait – what? What time is it?" Charming asked, rubbing at his eyes.

"Eleven… I think. When I was at UnderGranny's, the Blind Witch was getting the lunch specials ready," Belle explained. "I got you something to eat by the way. Emma told me what you liked and – "

"I slept until eleven? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"They were worried about what happened yesterday and thought you needed to rest. Don't worry, David. I don't think they're marching into Hades' lair without you." Her lips twitched into a slight smile.

He shook his head and sat up fully. "Right. Of course not."

He hoped Emma wouldn't be so stubborn anyway.

Then again, she was her mother's daughter.

Shaking his head again, Charming pulled himself from the sleep that still clung to him as he made his way to the kitchen. "So Belle, how are you doing? Adjusting to the Underworld okay?" he asked, slightly bitter. He was really hoping to have been home by now.

She simply shrugged, slipping onto a stool. "As well as any of us, I suppose," she replied, although Charming thought she looked… _off_. And it wasn't because of the strange lighting in the Underworld.

"Is everything okay, Belle?" he asked with a small frown.

"I – " she started, before she slid back off the stool and bolted for the bathroom.

"Belle?!" Charming called, frown deepening as he followed her in alarm. He winced at the unmistakable sound that came from the other side of the bathroom door.

When she came out of the bathroom, Charming put his arm around her and gently led her to the couch, figuring that would have been more comfortable than the kitchen stool.

"I'm pregnant, David."

"You're… you're what?" he whispered.

She nodded slowly. "And everything has just been so crazy lately that these hormones are going to make me completely lose it one day. I mean seeing Gaston again was enough but…"

"Gaston?"

"My… ex-fiancé. Arranged marriage that my father set up before Rumpel came into my life," she explained, playing with a thread on the blanket Charming had draped over her shoulders.

He sighed heavily. "I know how that is."

"You do?" she asked curiously.

"Abigail – Kathryn. She was James' fiancée and when I took his place, she became mine," Charming explained, a bit of disgust on his face. "But she wasn't thrilled about the arrangement either, so I helped her find her true love and went off to find Snow."

"Wait – James? King George's son?"

Charming nodded. "My twin brother. Identical twin. We hadn't met since we were newborns when my mother gave him up… until yesterday."

Belle frowned. "The docks… oh David – did you – did you push him into the water?"

Closing his eyes tight against the memory, Charming nodded. "I thought I could help him. I wanted to see him off to a better place like Killian had been able to do with his brother. But he was too angry at me."

"Why? You'd never met him; how could he possibly have been angry?"

"Because I had a loving parent, and he didn't. George was hard on James… and James was angry that I took his place after he died. I was the one that got the glory for defeating the dragon that had been bothering King Midas' lands," he said with a sigh. "I didn't think it would be possible for that to be his unfinished business all things considered but…" Shrugging, Charming looked over at Belle. "So… it seemed like you understood what I was talking about when I said I wanted to help James."

Belle took a deep breath. "Gaston. He was going to attack Rumpel and I tried to stop him. He fell into the river because of me. I thought I could help him find his unfinished business and fix it so he could move on but… I was wrong."

Charming nodded in understanding. "I guess… some people just don't want to be saved, even if they say they do."

Belle nodded again, before she spoke, her voice quiet. "Why do people always say heroes always win?"

He looked up from the soup Emma had ordered for him, and paused. It was a good question, he realized. He'd never really thought about it but now…

"I… I don't know," he said. "But it's a good question. We never really win, do we? We defeated Regina, but the curse was still cast and we lost twenty-eight years with our family. Emma figured out Greg and Tamara's plan, but Henry was kidnapped. Rumpelstiltskin defeated Pan, but he sacrificed his own life. Zelena was defeated, but Marian _and_ Neal died in the process _and_ she managed to come back. The Snow Queen died, but we were at each other's throats, and Emma lost a motherly figure. And now we're here because we defeated the Darkness, but it took Hook with it. I mean, we might defeat the villains but we lose so much in the process."

"So what is it that we win?" Belle finished.


End file.
